Inking cartridge



June 7, 1966 w. N. BESENICK 3,254,624

INKING CARTRIDGE Original Filed June 29. 1960 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM IV. BESENIGK.

ATTORNEY.

I United States Patent 3,254,624 INKING CARTRIDGE 1 William N. Besenick, Dexter, Mich., assignor to Burroughs Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Continuation of application Ser. No. 39,712, June 29, 1960. This application Dec. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 330,676 14 Claims. (Cl. 118268) This invention relates to improvements'in inking cartridges of the wick applicator variety suitable for reinking of ribbons and the like of business machines and is a continuation of application S.N. 39,712, filed June 29, 1960 and now abandoned.

Previously employed ribbon reinking cartridges of this general character have. comprised a generally vertically mounted tubular body containing a quantity of fluid ink between the enclosed ends thereof and having a radially located feed and vent tube opening into the interior and extending laterally from the upper end of the vertically mounted container body. The tube carries an applicator wick spaced from the inner wall thereof to provide clearance for passage of air for venting the cartridge interior therethrough with the wick passing into the cartridge body through the aforesaid tube opening and having a portion thereof immersed in the fluid ink within the container body.

The invention has among its objects to provide a wick applicator type inking cartridge characterized by structural features enabling mounting of the cartridge in a position atfording the least variation in and resistance to capillary rise and flow therein.

Other objects'are to provide a wick applicator inking cartridge that may be mounted in either a horizontal or vertical position with the maximum volume of ink therein without obstructing the venting passages and hazarding the risk of air blocks therein while assuring adequate and dependable capillary ink flow and affording substantially complete drainage and exhaustion of ink from within the cartridge.

A specific object is to provide a wick applicator inking cartridge in which the axis of the wick carrying feed tube extending laterally from one end of an elongated tube-like container body is located off-centrally of or out of the plane of the longitudinal axis of the container body to permit mounting of the cartridge in a horizontal position with the maximum volume of ink therein without blocking of the venting passages and decreasing capillary flow.

Another object is to provide a wick applicator inking cartridge having one or more chamber portions communicating with the interior of the container body and defining bounded expansion spaces or cavities at predetermined locations of the cartridge body for venting of the cartridge and mitigating the elfects of frothing of the ink therein.

Another object is to provide a wick applicator inking cartridge having one or more enlarged end portions serving as expansion or evacuation chambers and also as sediment collecting traps.

Another object is to provide improved forms of venting means in cartridges of the above character while still other objects are to provide improved feed tube and wick formations and arrangements for securing the wick to prevent twisting thereof within the tube and for feeding and exhuasting the ink from within the cartridge.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a top plan view and end view, respectively, of one form of wick applicator inking cartridge in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a form of wick ice tube and wick configuration taken in the direction 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a form of wick specially suitable for the cartridges described herein;

FIG. 5 through 8 inclusive, are diagrammatic illustrations of various cartridge configurations shown in a hori-' zontally mounted position and useful in explaining some of the principles presented herein;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 of a double-chambered form of cartridge in accordance with the invention;

.FIG. ll is a view taken in the direction 11-11 of the cartridge of FIG. 9 with parts removed and broken away to show a form of vent that may be employed therein;

FIG. 12 is a form of vent closure that may be employed in the cartridge of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional viewof a form of wick tube and wick configuration taken in the direction 13-13 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a front elevation view showingthe cartridge in its normally intended position of use with the wick tube inclined slightly to the horizontal and illustrating another form of venting means that may be employed therein;

FIG. 15 is an end view of the cartridge of FIG. 14 with parts broken away showing the vent and wick tube structure thereof;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken through the wick tube in the direction 16-16 of FIG. 15, and

FIG. 17 is a view of another form of cartridge having an expansion chamber at the end thereof opposite the feed tube end thereof.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a wick applicator inking cartridge 10 in accordance with one form'of the invention and comprising a reduced body section 12 in the form of an elongated cylindrical tube closed at one end 14 and communicating with an enlarged annular chamber portion 16 through a short smooth transition or expansion section 18, a plug cap 20 for enclosing the chamber, a feed and vent tube 22 stemming laterally from and opening at 24 into the chamber to communicate with the interior of the cartridge body, and a wick 26 carried by the feed tube and passing through the said opening into the cartridge body. The body 12, end 14, chamber 16, transition section 18 and feed tube 22 may be of integral one-piece construction formed :or molded of a light transparent plastic material. The plug cap 20 is separately formed and is shown as having a reduced section 28 which is snugly received within the free end of the chamber 16, and seats on and is suitably secured and sealed to the chamber portion as by cementing or heat welding.

The wick 26 may be formed of felt or open-celled bibulous material and, as illustrated in FIG. 4, may be of bifurcated form split longitudinally at and from the point 27 where the wick enters the interior of the cartridge body through the free, unrestricted tube opening 24, best shown in FIG. 14, thereby to provide two wick portions 32, 34, one of which portions 32 is coiled approximately one turn within the chamber 16 and the other portion 34 extends through and may be helically coiled within the body 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9. The coiling the wick in the chamber and/or the body portions assures that some part of the wick will' Thus some portion of the wick- The wick portions 32, 34 branch from the main portion 36 of the wick carried by the stem tube, the portion 36 being of one-piece construction and of generally rectangular or, preferably, square configuration. In order to secure the main portion 36 of the wick within the stem tube and to prevent movement and twisting thereof, the stern tube 22 is of oblate or generally elliptical configuration flattened in a direction to impound or confine at least two sides or flats of the Wick between flattened inner wall portions as 42, 43 of the tube, thereby securing the wick wholly without the need for cementing or providing additional wick holding structure on or in the wick tube.

By reason of the dilferent cross-sectional configura- 'tions of the wick and the wick tube, it will be noted that venting passages 46, 47, extending the length of the wick tube into the cartridge interior, are formed between the sides of the wick facing the arcuate portions 44, 45 of the elliptically shaped stem tube for venting the interior of the cartridge through the wick tube. The flattened walls 42, 43 are spaced apart a distance such that the wick can be inserted in the tube Without forcing or frictionally impacting the wick therein, while the arcuate wall portions 44, 45 ought to be spaced only so far from the facing sides or flats of the wick as to provide vent passages 46, 47, shown slightly exaggerated, adequate for passage of air while substantially constricting or impeding free liquid flow therethrough should the cartridge be tipped in a position as would tend to cause the liquid to flow from the interior of the cartridge through the passages prior to use of the cartridge.

FIG. 13 illustrates somewhat of a' semi-elliptical or dome-shaped wick tube formation 22A having three ad jacent flattened wall portions for confining three adjacent sides of a rectangular or square wick and in which a single venting passage 46A, located above the wick when the wick tube is disposed in a generally horizontal position, is provided between the free or remaining side of the wick and the arcuate curved or dome-shaped portion 44A of the wick tube spaced therefrom.

The cartridge is filled with a quantity of ink or other fluid, such that with the cartridge body disposed in a vertical position, the ink level will be just below the opening 24 of the stem tube into the container body, the quantity or supply of ink therefore being only slightly less than the entire volumetric capacity of the cartridge reduced by the air expansion space above the ink level therein. The free end of the stem tube extends slightly beyond the applicator tip end of the Wick shown as having an obliquely cut or formed face 49 thereon for tangential engagement or contact with a freely rotatable doctor or inking roll 50 shown in FIG. 5, and is hermetically sealed by a band or seal 52 of plastic or other suitable material which protects the wick and prevents leakage of ink through the tube prior to use of the cartridge. The wick tube is scored or undercut slightly around its periphery as shown at 53 to provide a weakened line of breakage along which the tip end of the sealed tube may be broken otf, in the convential manner of medicine ampules, to expose the applicator tip end of the wick and to open the vent passages 46, 47 to atmosphere with the removal of the seal 52 for use of the cartridge.

It will be noted that the axis of the wick tube 22 is located off-centrally of or out of a longitudinal axial plane containing the longitudinal axis of the container body and is of lesser longitudinal axial length than the container body. As illustrated diagrammatically in FIGS. and 8, the wick tube extends tangentially from the cartridge and its axis is spaced from a longitudinal axial plane through the body and parallel to the tube axis, so that with the cartridge mounted in a horizontal position and the Wick tube inclined upwardly at a slight angle of, say 5 to degrees to the horizontal, the tube opening 24 will be above the level of the fluid ink and the vent passages 46, 47, which are oriented in a vertical spaced-apart position, will not be obstructed thereby. From the drawings it will be noted that the end of the feed tube remote from the container body is elevated above the lowermost point of the unconstricted opening 24 of the feed tube into the container body by an amount that is less than half the breadth or diameter of the container body, shown in a free horizontal position. In a vertical plane containing the longitudinal axis of the feed tube and extending transaxially of the container body, the elevation of the lowermost point of the container body is less than one and a half times or of the diameter of the container body. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the elevation of the free end of the feed tube above the maximum level of the fluid in the container body is less than the level of the fluid in the container body.

In a related aspect, the enlarged chamber 16 also aids in elevating the tube opening or point of communication of the wick tube with the interior of the cartridge above the level of the ink therein, as may be ascertained from FIGS. 6 and 7 in which a centrally located wick tube is shown extending radially from the body 12 and from the chamber 16, respectively, FIG. 7 illustrates a higher elevation of the wick tube opening above the axial center of the cartridge body and an actual lowering of the level of the ink therein, as indicated by the depths d1, d2, with the body mounted in a horizontal position and the same inclination of the wick tube as existing in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates that the combination of the offcentrally or tangentially, rather than radially, located wick tube and the enlarged end chamber provides the greatest or optimum unobstructed clearance and spacing of the tube opening and vent passages above the level of ink consistent with minimum capillary rise requirements and the utilization of the maximum ink capacity of the cartridge.

FIG. 9 illustrates a double-chambered, dumb-bell shaped inking cartridge in accordance with another form of the invention in which the end of the body portion opposite the wick tube carrying end thereof is expanded to form an enlarged coaxial annular chamber 56, which communicates with the tubular body portion and receives a plug cap 58, similar to plug cap 20 in the open end thereof. A part of the ink normally filling the chamber 56 in the vertical position of the cartridge body will be displaced therefrom and lower the level of the ink therein when the cartridge is turned in a horizontal position, thereby providing a bounded space above the level of the ink in this portion of the cartridge suitable for the provision of additional venting means at this location of the cartridge.

Such additional venting has been found especially desirable in cases where the ink or fluid within the cartridge is subject to substantial ambient temperature rise and to vibration and shaking as in business machine apparatus in which such cartridges may be employed. These factors tend to cause foaming and frothing of the ink and to produce a foamy or bubble barrier intermediate the ends of the cartridge, thereby causing air blocks or entrapments therein that are prevented from venting through the feed tube. In the absence of adequate venting, the heating of the ink causes it to expand volumetrically and, due to the difference in pressure between the entrapped air spaces and atmosphere, the ink ultimately discharges through the feed tube in such sudden and uncontrolled quantity as to spurt on the surrounding apparatus, spilling an excessive amount of ink thereon and creating a messy condition as well as unduly saturating the ribbon, inking roll or type elements to which the ink is intended to be applied. The provision of the expansion chamber 56 opposite the Wick tube carrying end of a horizontally mounted cartridge serves as an ideal means and location for such additional venting means in this location in the cartridge for mitigating or substantially eliminating the foregoing effects.

Such venting means may take the form of an opening 60 in the expansion chamber 56 and displaced angularly approximately 90 degrees from the axis of the feed tube 22A so that with the cartridge mounted in a horizontal position and the feed tube extending nearly horizontally therefrom, the opening 60 will be generally vertically aligned and located above the horizontal level of the ink within the chamber 56 as shown in FIG. 11. The vent opening 60, which can also serve as an ink refill opening for the cartridge, may be sealed by a removable flat head screw 62 threadably received therein and cemented thereto and the chamber. The screw is shown as having a keyway type slot 62a therein which acts as a valve when the screw is backed off sufficiently from the threaded opening for venting the chamber without the necessity for complete removal of the screw therefrom. In order to prevent complete removal and possible loss of the screw, the lower end of the screw may be provided with a suitable retainer, as a snap ring,- thereon or be expanded after it has been inserted in the chamber to retain the screw therein. An ideal form of commercially available screw type enclosure is illustrated in FIG. 12 in the form of a hollow, cylindrical, plastic screw 63 having a closed end 64 which may be punctured by a pointed tool or instrument to vent the cartridge without hazarding the risk of damaging the cartridge or requiring removal of the screw until it is desired to refill the cartridge.

Alternatively, the venting means could take the form of a hollow breather tube 66, formed of a length of flexible, small bore tubing, such as vinyl, inserted in and extending through the tube opening 24 into the cartridge body to the opposite end thereof where the inner end of the breather tube extends into the chamber 56 above the level of the ink therein, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The outer end of the breather tube terminates shortly behind the wick application tip projecting through the feed tube with the portion ofthe breather tube carried in the feed tube resting on or positioned between the upper flat surface of the wick and the wall of the feed tube 22B when the cartridge is mounted with the wick tube in the position shown in FIG. 15. 1

The wick carrying feed tube 22B in the embodiment of FIGS. 14 and 15 may be of circular cross section of uniform bore as illustrated in FIG. 16 so that with a wick of rectangular or square configuration, the breather tube 66 will aid in frictionally securing the wick to the feed tube to prevent twisting and movement thereof and W111 also aid in spacing the wick from the interior of the tube so as to provide at least the air passages 68 and to assure the continuity of these passages into the interior of the cartridge body. Additionally, since the breather tube is hollow, the vent provided thereby at the innermost end thereof within the chamber 56 iselfectively connected or transferred through the length of the breather tube to the outermost end thereof at the free end'of the wick tube for passage of air therethrough from or into the cartridge interior in order to continue capillary action under barometric pressure. Any fluid entrapped in the breather tube will be discharged therethrough by expansion of the entrapped air, as previously mentioned, causing such fluid entrapped within the breather tube to be discharged therefrom onto the upper surface of the wick projecting slightly beyond the outermost end of the breather tube and thus soak into the wick.

The breather tube design thus enables the use of a circular stem or feed tube and the securing of the Wick thereto to prevent movement and twisting thereof, while spacing the wick from the feed tube to provide venting of both of the chambers 16 and 56 at the point of communication of the feed tube and cartridge where the wick passes through the opening 24 into the interior of the cartridge and at the remote end chamber 56 disposed at the opposite end of the cartridge from the stem tube, the latter the wick and the outermost end of the breather vent tube A can be employed.

' The provision of an enlarged chamber at one or both ends of the cartridge as seen in FIGS. 1, 17 or 9 serves in a related aspect to mitigate frothing of the ink within the cartridge in thatany bubbles generated in their vicinity and tending to create vent 'blocks or barriers in the cartridge will tend to expand in the enlarged spaces provided thereby and to thin out, bursting the bubble cells and open the vent barriers. .In addition to their venting and froth mitigating functions, the expansion chambers illustrated herein also serve as sediment collecting traps in the horizontal body mounting of the cartridge.

In order to assure complete exhaustion and drainage of the ink collecting in the portions of the chambers 16 and 56 located below the tubular body portion 12, a multiple or, preferably, the split wick design of FIG. 4 can be employed, with one portion of the wicking means being coiled approximately one turn and located in the chamber 16 and another portion of the wicking means extending through the body portion 12 into the chamber 56, where it is coiled approximately one turn therein about the longitudinal axis of the cartridge. The square shoulders 70 formed between the body and each of the adjoining enlarged annular chambers of the double chambered cartridges illustrated herein aid in positioning and retaining the coiled wick portions in the respective chambers.

While the invention has been described in terms of its use as a ribbon reinking cartridge, it is apparent that other fluids and substances may be employed and that the cartridges could be used to dispense and apply such substances to devices other than ribbons, rolls and printing elements of business and/ or printing or other machines.

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid applicator adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid and comprising an elongated, tubular body, means providing a pair of expansion chambers at the opposite ends of and communicating with the interior of the body, a feed tube extending from and communicating with one of said expansion chambers above the fluid level therein,

a wick carried by said tube and having an applicator portion at one end of the tube and another portion immersed in the fluid within said body, and venting means communicating with the other expansion chamber of the body positioned to locate the venting means above the fluid level therein.

2. A fluid applicator adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid and comprising an elongated, tubular body, means providing a pair of expansion chambers at the opposite ends of and communicating with the interior of the body, a feed tube extending from and communicating with one of said expansion chambers above the level of the ink therein, a wick carried by said tube and having an applicator portion at one end of the tube and another portlon immersed in the fluid'within said body, and a single venting means carried by the tube providing venting passages communicating with both of said expansion chambers.

3. An inking cartridge adapted to be mounted in a generally horizontal position and comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having an expansion chamber 7 municating with said expansion chamber of the cartridge positioned to locate the venting means above the level of the ink therein when the cartridge is mounted in a generally horizontal position, said venting means comprising a normally closed vent opening in said expansion chamber adapted to be opened to expose the interior of said expansion chamber to atmosphere for use of the cartridge.

4. An inking cartridge adapted to be mounted in a generally horizontal position and comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having an expansion chamber communicating with the interior near one end thereof and adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid ink therein, a feed tube extending from and opening into the tubular body portion opposite the expansion chamber end thereof above the level of the ink therein, wick applicator means carried by the tube and having an applicator portion at one end of said tube and another portion immersed in the ink within said body portion, and venting means communicating with said expansion chamber of the cartridge positioned to locate the venting means above the level of the ink therein when the cartridge is mounted in a generally horizontal position, said venting means comprising a vent opening located in said expansion chamber above the level of the ink therein and a hollow, cylindrical sealing plug closed at one end thereof received within and normally sealing said vent opening and adapted to be punctured at the closed end thereof to expose the vent opening to atmosphere for use of the cartridge.

5. An inking cartridge comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having an expansion chamber of enlarged cross-section at one end thereof and communicating with the interior thereof, a feed tube extending from and communicating with said expansion chamber, said body portion being adapted to be filled with a supply of ink therein below the point of communication of said feed tube with said expansion chamber, and wick applicator means carried by said feed tube and having a portion coiled approximately one turn lying within said expansion chamber and another portion extending into the tubular body portion.

6. An inking cartridge in accordance with claim above wherein said wick applicator means is of bifurcated formation to provide said wick portions.

7. A wick applicator cartridge suitable for mounting in a generally horizontal position and adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid ink therein, said cartridge comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having an expansion chamber communicating with the interior near one end thereof, a feed tube extending laterally from said expansion chamber and communicating with the interior thereof above the level of the ink within said body portion, 'wick applicator means carried by said tube and having an applicator tip portion adjacent one end of the tube displaced from the body portion and another portion extending into and immersed in the ink within said body portion, said feed tube having the axis of the wick applicator tip carrying portion thereof spaced from an axial plane of the tubular body portion parallel to the axis of the said wick applicator tip carrying portion of said feed tube and lying in a plane exclusive of the axis of the tubular body portion.

8. An inking cartridge suitable for mounting in a generally horizontal position and adapted to contain a supply of fluid ink therein, said cartridge comprising an elongated tubular container body portion having an expansion chamber communicating with the interior near one end thereof, a straight feed tube extending laterally from and opening into the expansion chamber above the level of the ink therein and having the longitudinal axis thereof spaced from a longitudinal axial plane of the container body portion parallel to the axis of the feed tube and lying in a plane exclusive of the axis of the tubular body portion, and wick applicator means of rectangular section carried by the feed tube and passing through the tube opening and into the ink within the container body 8 portion, said feed tube being of substantially oblong crosssection and flattened in a direction to confine a pair of spaced sides of the rectangular wick to prevent any rotatable movement and twisting of the wick within the feed tube.

9 An inking cartridge comprising an elongated, tubular horizontally positionable body portion having a pair of expansion chambers at its opposite ends communicating with the interior thereof, a feed tube extending laterally of and tangentially from one of said expansion chambers and communicating therewith above the level of the ink therein, wick applicator means carried by the tube and having an applicator portion at one end of said tube and another portion immersed in the ink within said body portion, and venting means communicating with the other expansion chamber and located above the level of the ink therein.

10. A wick applicator cartridge adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid therein and comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having a pair of expansion chambers at its opposite ends communicating with the interior thereof, a feed tube extending from and communicating with one of said expansion chambers above the level of the ink therein, wick applicator means carried by the tube and having a portion coiled approximately one turn lying within one of said expansion chambers and another portion extending through the tubular body portion and coiled at least one turn in the other expansion chamber, and venting means communicating with the said other expansion chamber and located above the fluid level therein.

11. A wick applicator cartridge adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid therein and comprising an elongated, tubular container body portion having a pair of enlarged chambers at its opposite ends communicating with the interior thereof, a laterally extending feed tube opening into one of said chambers above the level of the fluid therein and having the axis thereof spaced from an axial plane of the body portion parallel to the axis of the feed tube, rectangular wick means carried by the feed tube and having a portion coiled approximately one turn lying in one of said chambers and another por' tion extending through the body portion and coiled at least one turn lying in the other of said chambers, and venting means communicating with the said other chamher, said feed tube being of substantially elliptical crosssection flattened in a direction to confine a pair of spaced sides of the wick to prevent movement and twisting of the wick within the tube and having a pair of spaced arcuate wall portions spaced from the remaining sides of the wick to provide clearance therebetween for passage of air through the feed tube.

12. An inking cartridge suitable for mounting in a generally horizontal position and comprising an elongated, tubular body portion of a length several times greater than the diameter thereof adapted to be filled with a supply of fluid ink between the enclosed ends thereof, a feed tube extending from and opening into the body portion near one end thereof above the level of the ink therein, bibulous wick applicator means carried by the feed tube and having an applicator tip portion projecting from one end of the tube and another portion extending into and immersed in the ink within the body portion, and a thin, flexible breather tube carried within said feed tube above the wick applicator means therein and spacing said wick applicator means from a portion of the inner wall of the feed tube, said breather tube extending into said body portion to a point located adjacent the other end of the body portion and above the level of the ink therein when the cartridge is in a generally horizontal position, the portion of the breather tube carried by the feed tube terminating within the feed tube at a point located inwardly of the applicator tip portion and the open end of the feed tube displaced from the body portion.

13. An inking cartridge suitable for mounting in a substantially horizontal position comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having a chambered portion of enlarged cross-section at one end thereof and communicating with the interior thereof, a feed tube extending from and communicating with said chambered portion, said body portion being adapted to be filled with a supply of ink therein below the point of communication of said feed tube with said chambered portion, and wick applicator means carried by said feed tube and having an applicator tip portion projecting from the end of the feed tube displaced from the body portion and another portion extending into the tubular body portion and immersed within the ink therein.

14. An inking cartridge suitable for mounting in a substantially horizontal position comprising an elongated, tubular body portion having a chambered portion of enlarged cross-section at one end thereof and communicating with the interior thereof, a feed tube extending laterally of and tangentially from and communicating with said chambered portion, said body portion being adapted to be filled with a supply of ink therein below the point of communication of said feed tube with said chambered portion, and wick applicator means carried by said feed tube and having an applicator tip portion projecting from the end of the feed tube displaced from the body portion and another portion extending into the tubular body portion and immersed within the ink therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,131 8/1908 Owen 222-487 982,939 1/1911 Cummings 118268 X 1049,139 12/1912 Owens 117 1,856,882 5/1932 Myers 118268 X 2,042,671 6/ 1936 MacLean 118268 X 2,599,561 6/1952 Knight 117 2,732,824 1/ 1956 Brown 118268 2,745,533 5/1956 Keleher 197171 2,910,960 11/1959 Markes 118268 FOREIGN PATENTS 949,971 3/ 1949 France. 647,100 6/ 1937 Germany.

MORRIS KAPLAN, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD'D. NEVIUS, Examiner.

JOHN P. MCINTOSI-I, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FLUID APPLICATOR ADAPTED TO BE FILLED WITH A SUPPLY OF FLUID AND COMPRISING AN ELONGATED, TUBULAR BODY, MEANS PROVIDING A PAIR OF EXPANSION CHAMBERS AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF AND COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE BODY, A FEED TUBE EXTENDING FROM AND COMMUNICATING WITH ONE OF SAID EXPANSION CHAMBERS ABOVE THE FLUID LEVEL THEREIN, A WICK CARRIED BY SAID TUBE AND HAVING AN APPLICATOR PORTION AT ONE END OF THE TUBE AN ANOTHER PORTION IMMERSED IN THE FLUID WITHIN SAID BODY, AND VENTING MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE OTHER EXPANSION CHAMBER OF THE BODY POSITIONED TO LOCATE THE VENTING MEANS ABOVE THE FLUID LEVEL THEREIN. 